


The Little Things

by Kira_Dattei



Series: Moments Between Missions [10]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: AO3 FB Challenge, Anniversary, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 13:23:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13482366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kira_Dattei/pseuds/Kira_Dattei
Summary: With their lives, celebrating the little things should happen more often, Shepard decides. Even if this isn't really a "little thing" to him.





	The Little Things

**Author's Note:**

> This one was for a challenge in the AO3 Facebook group (hence the tag ^_^) with word prompts. First time I've done a word prompt like this, so there's another box checked for me. I also didn't really read through it again after finishing, so I apologize for any mistakes. Hope you enjoy!

Kaidan gave Shepard flat look, crossing his arms as well to make sure he was getting the message across that this wasn’t one of Shepard’s best moments.

“You want me to meet with the Council on your behalf?” he repeated, really hoping he hadn’t heard the Commander correctly.

“Basically, yeah,” Shepard confirmed, though he did at least have the decency to look a little uncomfortable. It was better than nothing, Kaidan figured.

“Commanding officer notwithstanding as it holds no bearing on my position as a Spectre, why should I?” Kaidan made a point to ignore how juvenile that sounded, like he was some teenager who didn’t want to go to a parent-teacher conference.

Though there was a fair degree of similarity between the two situations.

He didn’t want to deal with the Council getting frustrated with Shepard and take it out on him. He got enough of that when he’d first been made a Spectre, mostly from Udina, and it wasn’t something he liked dealing with. It didn’t help that his patience already wasn’t top notch today, the long line of completed missions meaning he was tired as hell and ready to not have any obligations for a day.

“Aria has been insistent for weeks about when I’ll be back to help her out and she’s been bombarding me with messages since we docked. The sooner I get over to talk to her, the better. Besides, you know everything I’ll be reporting to them, having been on all the missions they sent our way. And you’ve got a more thorough knowledge of the progress on the Crucible.” Shepard took a step closer to Kaidan and reached out to squeeze his wrist briefly, just about the most he’d do while in public in the Citadel in uniform. “You know they like you better. I’m saving us both hassle on this.”

“How do you figure?” Sometimes, Shepard’s way of thinking just baffled Kaidan.

Shepard offered a grin, though it was still restrained as he likely recognized he wasn’t clear to really joke around. “I’d get done and do nothing but bitch about having to deal with them. They’re a lot more likely to let you just deliver your report and leave. And with how much responsibility you have on the Normandy, it’s not like we’re cutting corners here.”

“Sure sounds like _you_ are,” Kaidan muttered low enough that Shepard wouldn’t hear him over the noise around them as he turned and started walking towards the elevator.

He’d just finished his usual implant/amp check-up with Michel, Shepard tagging along and taking up a corner of the examination room. It wasn’t the first time he’d come with Kaidan for one of these routine checks, but Kaidan figured now that Shepard had been biding his time to ask this.

Shepard at least deserved some credit for actually making sure to ask in person rather than sending Kaidan a message.

Shepard fell into step just behind Kaidan as they made their way out of Huerta and toward the cabs.

“What does Aria want?” Kaidan asked instead of giving his answer. After all, despite how Shepard preferred to not deal with the Council, they were all on good enough terms. He didn’t actually have a reason to avoid them, regardless of how it sounded.

Shepard let out a heavy sigh, more frustrated than anything else. “Most likely wanting to collect on me owing her for the support of the gangs from Omega.”

Kaidan looked over his shoulder to Shepard. “You think she’s finally ready to reclaim Omega?”

“Yeah, that’s my guess. She’s been dropping hints the last few times we passed through and she’s not one to sit back once things are lined up.”

“That’s what you get for owing Aria T’Loak a favor.”

Kaidan’s only interactions with Aria had been through a third party, the asari operating outside his usual range of operations: i.e. he was too official for her to associate with. And the few times he’d been around when Shepard had done business with her, he’d never joined in the conversation. At the end of the day, she’d never trust working with Kaidan and he’d only work with her if he had no other choice. He didn’t even know if he was even on her radar: despite his rank and status between the Alliance and the Council, it likely didn’t mean much to someone like Aria. Add in that she usually operated out of Omega and he’d only been there a few times back before his rush of promotions, the likelihood that she gave him two thoughts was low.

“She’s not so bad if you’re on her good side. And I figured that’d be a good place with everything else going against us. It’s not a big deal and it’ll deal a harsh blow to Cerberus when we pull it off.”

“Can’t argue with results like that, I guess,” the biotic acquiesced. “As long as she doesn’t get you killed in the process.” He wouldn’t deny being concerned about Aria not caring enough to watch Shepard’s back in combat: she was one to accept any and all losses except her own.

“Where’s the trust?”

“That’d sound better coming from someone who didn’t spend two years dead.”

Shepard’s gait actually faltered a bit at that and Kaidan had to fight the urge to grin. Kaidan generally avoided thinking about the time Shepard was dead, so to bring it up so casually was an easy way to throw his partner off. And it helped Kaidan not be so bothered by that time, so win-win.

Kaidan stepped up to one of the parked cabs, then turned and leaned against it so he could face Shepard. The man stayed a step away, watching Kaidan for indication that he was actually in the clear.

Kaidan held off on giving him that, if for no other reason than he deserved it for putting an appearance to the Council all on him. Shepard didn’t need any encouragement on doing something like this again.

“You want me to deliver the report, fine. But you _will_ send them a message letting them know to expect me and why. I don’t want to have to spend the first ten minutes of my time there explaining your actions.”

“Right, yeah, I was planning to,” Shepard responded in an insistent tone, like he was trying to make sure Kaidan believed him. It amused Kaidan to no end that all Shepard’s tact and charm regularly went out to the window to some degree when he was talking to the man he loved. That suited Kaidan just fine: it showed how genuine John was.

“Then, I better get my ass over there, this supposedly being a timesaving method.”

“Thank you so much, Kaidan. I really do appreciate it. I don’t like having to ask someone else to do my job, but at the same time, it’s kind of nice having someone around that I _can_ ask.”

That helped Kaidan not feel so opposed: it made sense that Shepard would be picky about who he asked to do any part of his job.

Not that it helped the Council be any easier to deal with. Why couldn’t he be covering a report to literally anyone in the Alliance?

“Right, well next favor you ask better exemplify one of the perks of being second-in-command.”

“There are perks to that position?” Shepard retorted smoothly, then he gave Kaidan a careful glance like he hadn’t meant for that to come out.

“Tap out while you’re ahead, Shepard,” Kaidan deadpanned.

“Right, I’ll see you back at the apartment,” the Commander answered tightly as he rubbed the back of his neck in a show of nerves.

Kaidan turned away and activated his omnitool to submit his clearance to the vehicle’s terminal, the door sliding open once he was cleared. He was about to slide into the seat when he looked back to Shepard, finally allowing his amusement to show. “You made that way too easy, Shepard. I’m almost disappointed.”

Shepard paused for a few seconds before realizing what Kaidan meant. “You asshole. That’s the last time I worry about ticking you off,” he said indignantly as he crossed his arms.

Kaidan just grinned back as he settled into the driver’s seat. “No, it’s not,” he responded and closed the door before Shepard could say anything else.

Really, sometimes Shepard just set himself up with the people he cared about, especially Kaidan. He let himself get distracted by not wanting to mess things up between them that he seemed to forget the experience Kaidan had under his belt. Because as far down the list of Kaidan’s preferred tasks meeting the Council was, he’d had to do plenty worse.

That didn’t mean he was going to pass up the opportunity of making Shepard sweat about having to ask the favor.

Kaidan keyed in his location and activated the auto-pilot for the cab and relaxed back against the seat, giving Shepard one last glance as the man waved briefly and turned to walk away.

At the end of the day, Kaidan was happy to help the Commander out any way he could. It wasn’t even just about their relationship, just that there was a lot riding on Shepard’s ability to lead efficiently. And if he wasn’t someone Shepard felt he could rely on, he was being a shitty officer. And between his rank and experience, he really had no excuse for being a shitty officer, especially aboard the Normandy with its reputation of holding the most skilled crew in the galaxy. So, he’d do whatever he could to follow orders and lighten Shepard’s load when able.

He’d make up messing with Shepard like that to the man tonight once they retired to the apartment. Until then, they were both still on the clock and had plenty to take care of before they could put away their professional sides for the night.

Kaidan activated his omnitool and accessed his copies of all the reports from their missions since the last time Shepard had reported to the Council, using the trip to focus in on what they’d done since Shepard’s last report to the Council. For once, he let out a heavy sigh at how much he had his eyes on that sometimes made it hard to keep all the details straight for a report like this.

* * *

Three hours later finally saw Kaidan stepping off the elevator and into the hall to Shepard’s apartment. He wondered if the Council had taken advantage of it being him delivering the report considering how much they’d pressed him for details. He was mostly sure Shepard’s meetings with them didn’t go that long.

Though, if that was standard, Kaidan may have just a bit more sympathy for Shepard not liking to deliver his reports to them. The Commander hated that side of his job to begin with, so making it more difficult wasn’t the way to get on his good side.

Reaching the door to Shepard’s apartment, Kaidan keyed in the code for the lock his partner had given him the last time they’d been to the Citadel. The door slid open and he stepped inside, locking the door behind him. He glanced around what he could see of the apartment, trying to get a lock on Shepard.

He’d already sent a message ahead to Shepard, letting him know he was on his way and had gotten an answer that he was already back at the apartment.

The blinds were raised, as they usually were when Shepard was here, and the sound system was playing music low to offer some background noise. They were both too used to being on a ship and all its ambient noise to not have something playing while not in space. Shepard wasn’t in the immediate living area, the kitchen, or at the bar just in view on the other side of the partition.

Deciding seeing Shepard now and in a minute didn’t make a difference, Kaidan headed toward the stairs, confirming that Shepard wasn’t in the other half of the living room behind the partition, and then upstairs to the bedroom. He didn’t have much in the way of clothes that he kept here, but he had something that wasn’t his uniform and that was the priority. He was already working on the clasps and buttons of his shirt as he made the turn to the bedroom. He pulled it free of his pants and then off his shoulders, carrying it to the closet and dropping it to the floor just inside the door. He reached for the duffel bag his clothes were in, as he hadn’t taken the chance to put anything away. Pulling out his Alliance hoodie, he slipped it on but left it unzipped so it hung loosely around him. Leaning against the wall, he worked off his boots, socks, and pants, setting them with his shirt in a pile he was content to leave until tomorrow. He grabbed a pair of jeans from his duffel and pulled them on, making sure to keep the sleeveless undershirt he always wore under his uniform top untucked just to be that little bit more relaxed. He was going for comfort, after all.

He left the closet and the bedroom, turning to head back downstairs and toward the office in the back of the apartment. When Shepard didn’t have company over, he could usually be found at his terminal, especially considering he’d met with Aria and would be having to hammer out details of some form.

Kaidan stepped into the room, hearing Shepard moving around just beyond the corner of the wall and he walked in view of the man. Shepard was still in his uniform, though he’d at least unfastened his shirt and it was hanging open over his chest, barely still tucked in as he’d pulled some slack from his pants. He was working at his terminal, going between typing on the screen and imputing commands into his omnitool. Kaidan watched him work for a little while, just enjoying the sight of the man working in his element: he may not be the tech Kaidan was, but he still went through the task with the same commanding presence as he approached all his responsibilities. It was damn sexy.

Just because Kaidan didn’t vocalize how attractive John was as often as his partner did was not indicative of how attractive he thought the man was.

It took a minute, but finally Shepard glanced up from his work and saw Kaidan, his expression showing he had no idea Kaidan had been there. He shook his surprise off quickly, though, and stood to walk toward Kaidan.

“I thought you were in the kitchen,” Shepard explained.

Kaidan raised an eyebrow and pushed his left hand into his pocket. “Statistical guess?” he responded with a smirk.

Shepard chuckled and reached out to take hold of Kaidan’s neck, pulling him forward so he could give him a brief but firm kiss. “A little bit. But it gets tough to place where someone’s at once they get around the stairs. It echoes just a bit too much.”

The biotic had noticed that, too. Sure, he wasn’t here all the time that Shepard was, but he was used to getting his bearings using all his senses to get a handle on his surroundings and the open plan on the apartment did make it tricky sometimes when it came to knowing where someone was.

Figuring it’d be best if they got everything official out of the way, he asked, “How’d things go with Aria?”

Shepard claimed another kiss, then backed off a few steps. “We called it: she’s looking to launch her attack on Omega and she wants me to deliver on the favor I owe her. We’re heading out tomorrow night and joining up with a group of her supporters.”

“Does she actually have a plan or is it something you’ll be making up as you go?” Kaidan’s voice was already getting a bit tight and he tried to take in deep breaths to relax without being obvious about it. Shepard noticed, though, and he reached back out for Kaidan, taking a hold of Kaidan’s bicep and giving it a comforting squeeze.

“There’s not much we can do until we get there, unfortunately. Cerberus has a tight hold on the place and I’m pretty sure she’s lucky to have the details she’s got. There’ll be a lot happening on the fly.”

“Good thing you’ve got plenty of practice there.”

“Even by our standards, this is a little thread-bare. And she’s insistent that it just be me. Non-negotiable.”

Expecting as much didn’t really make it any easier to hear it be the case and Kaidan knew his expression had darkened. “Not even Garrus and his questionable life choices get a pass for Aria’s standards?”

“She doesn’t trust any of you to do the job.”

“No, she simply doesn’t trust us. It’s not about getting the job done or she’d make sure were all there.” He pulled his hand out of his pocket and took hold of Shepard’s wrist. “I don’t hold it against her, John. Sure, I’m not pleased with her making you go solo, but you can take care of yourself.” He gave Shepard a grin as his hand slid up Shepard’s arm. He took a step closer so he could run his hand up over Shepard’s shoulder, running his fingers over the buzzed head as he moved in close. “If nothing else, I figure you wouldn’t let your reputation take a blow like losing out to Cerberus in just reclaiming control of a station.”

He leaned in to place a kiss to the side of Shepard’s mouth before he stepped away and turned to leave the room. As much as he joked about Shepard’s guess that he was in the kitchen, getting something to eat wouldn’t be a bad idea. His stomach was a force to be reckoned with and he hadn’t eaten since just before they’d docked. Shepard would follow him anyway, now that he’d left his work alone.

Kaidan wasn’t wrong as he heard Shepard walking a few steps behind, then Shepard asked, “Did everything go alright with the Council? It usually doesn’t take that long to deliver reports to them.”

Kaidan glanced back at him just as he turned the corner into the kitchen. “I figured they were taking advantage of how much details they can coax out of me.”

“I think they just missed your charming company. I just knew they got too attached to you when they had you all to themselves. That and you just give the most fantastically detailed reports. Why read a couple page dictation when there’s the option of your dulcet tone narrating the events?”

Kaidan went to the fridge with a roll of his eyes, looking inside as Shepard leaned his back against the counter so he could watch Kaidan move around.

“Careful, they’ll have at least a week to try and convince me to stick around. And you know once they hear we’re docked until you get back, they’ll be taking advantage of having me around.”

“Don’t they always?” Shepard muttered in what Kaidan would absolutely qualify as a pout. It was only fair to get Shepard worked up when he’d spend however long his partner was gone concerned for his safe return.

Kaidan did turn around to face Shepard anyway, seeing his partner standing with his arms crossed and a glum expression, as though Kaidan had already agreed to leave the Normandy behind and take up a Spectre/Alliance officer position on the Citadel. He closed the fridge door and closed the distance between the two of them, reaching out and placing one hand on either side of Shepard’s hips against the counter, leaning his weight forward to crowd in close. Shepard watched him move quietly, even managing to keep his expression flat.

“Relax, John. Neither the Council or the Alliance has anything they can offer me to get me off the Normandy. If nothing else, I’ve got a thing with commitment and that’s something you can claim for yourself.”

Shepard grinned as he uncrossed his arms and took hold of Kaidan’s hips, pulling him in even closer to start kissing along Kaidan’s neck. “Remember that you just okayed me to fight the Alliance and the Council to keep you on the Normandy if it ever comes up. You know I get protective over the people I care about and you’re right at the top of that list.”

“That isn’t what I said at all, Shepard,” Kaidan struggled to keep an even voice with Shepard’s lips working a wonderfully sensitive spot at his pulse.

“I generalize.”

“No shit.”

Shepard lost his composure there, resting his forehead against Kaidan’s shoulder as he laughed. The biotic just rolled his eyes and straightened up his posture, staying close but moving his hands to Shepard’s arms instead of being against the counter. Shepard took advantage of the shift and turned them around, leaning his weight against Kaidan so that he was pressed securely between the man and the counter. Kaidan was actually surprised Shepard didn’t lift him up on the counter with the thing he had for putting him on his desk as they made out.

Once Kaidan was settled in place, Shepard pulled away enough to lock gazes with him, his expression serious and intense while also managing to hold that softness that showed Kaidan just how deeply John loved him. Shepard just watched him for a while, Kaidan letting him work out whatever he needed to without interruption. He did this sometimes when he wasn’t sure about how to word something, usually when it came to expressing himself seriously to Kaidan.

“So, as much as I didn’t want there to be parallels of heading off to questionable survivability…”

“Considering our lives, that happens more often than not, so just go with it,” Kaidan had to cut in to say. And Shepard’s voice had been indicative of needing a little bit of an icebreaker.

Shepard did give him a grin for that before continuing. “I’ve decided we need an anniversary to celebrate.”

Kaidan frowned a bit as his mind went to work trying to figure out what Shepard could be referring to. It had barely even been six months since Kaidan had returned to the Normandy, let alone when they’d gotten back together. And, despite how much Shepard didn’t pay attention to social norms, he usually didn’t go around inventing dates to pay attention to. Hell, he barely paid attention to dates as it was, letting the timestamp on his reports and messages do the remembering for him. Not that many others of the Normandy crew were much better about it.

Either way, Kaidan was coming up blank about what Shepard could be talking about.

“Meaning?”

Shepard gave him a sly look before asking, “Should I be impressed that I caught you off-guard or insulted that you think so little of our history together?” Apparently, Kaidan had taken the wrong approach and either relaxed Shepard too much or Shepard was more uncertain about what he was saying than he let on and this was nerves talking.

Whatever the reason, it wasn’t right thing to say just then and Kaidan found himself more frustrated with Shepard than amused. It’d pass quickly enough, but that didn’t mean he had to let Shepard off completely.

Kaidan took his hands off Shepard’s arms and put them back on the edge of the counter. “How about bleeding from the hook I’m about to give you?”

“Well, there goes the moment.”

“I’m pretty sure we hadn’t reached ‘moment’ status yet, between your random declarations and unnecessary enjoyment of confusing me. Then there’s the moderately insulting insinuation that I don’t care about us.”

“I’m sorry, Kaid. You know I’m not good at this sort of shit. Which really isn’t fair considering how good I am at talking people out of stupid decisions.” Shepard’s hands slid up Kaidan’s sides in a soothing caress, purposefully staying over his shirt but below the hoodie.

The biotic gave a quiet laugh at Shepard admitting to his disadvantage.

“You were explaining yourself,” Kaidan prompted, helping the man get back on track.

“I realized the other day it’s three years today since we first slept together.” Shepard said it as a rush, apparently just getting it out before he got caught up with anything else and Kaidan was thrown again for that approach.

Shepard was right, though. Kaidan remembered those days with nightmare-fueled clarity, the battles that led to facing Saren and Sovereign and the fight at the Citadel. Besides all that was how he’d allowed his feelings for Shepard to actually dictate his actions, admitting that their relationship was far beyond commanding officer and subordinate. And Shepard had accepted and they’d let their bodies do the talking in an amazing night that had completely changed Kaidan’s life.

But Kaidan remembered it all as a series of events. And considering those events were followed by John’s death a few months later, it really was difficult for him to think of one without thinking of the other, knowing he’d gotten something so amazing only to have it taken from him before he could even settle into having it.

It was a complicated series of events for Kaidan, even now with John right in front of him and he _had_ gotten the chance to settle into being with Shepard.

Kaidan shook off his train of thought and focused back on Shepard, who was watching him silently. “You want to make an event of the first time we had sex?”

“Well, no, not that we had sex. That was just a _really_ good finish to you actually dropping your guard and saying we could be together.” Shepard gave a short sigh and his right hand moved to Kaidan’s cheek. “Look, I know we didn’t get much time together before all that shit with the Collectors and the Normandy’s destruction taking me with it, but we got some and that’s what matters. And we were able to work things out to be back together now. I think that’s worth celebrating, don’t you? And what better day to designate than when we did actually work things out? Sure, we can set more for this time around, giving attention where it’s due, but we aren’t there yet. This can be a placeholder that just happens to be pretty meaningful in my mind.”

Kaidan smiled, getting caught up in the emotions Shepard evoked in him. “I knew that charm was in there somewhere,” he joked, following it up by closing the distance between them and claiming a deep kiss with Shepard pushing back against him easily enough. And when Kaidan let the kiss end, Shepard stayed in close, their breaths mixing as their foreheads touched. They remained still and quiet for a few minutes, just enjoying the contact while allowing their lips to brush together sometimes in barely-there kisses.

“We better make it to a real anniversary. Paying attention to the first time we had sex, followed closely by breaking up by cause of your death, then working basically opposing sides, and ending up pointing guns at each other over a traitor Councilor just isn’t something that should really be celebrated. I’ll be happy to acknowledge our first date, and anything that happened after that, but this has basically been three years of figuring shit out.”

Shepard laughed at that breakdown of the highlights of their lives over the past few years. “Hey, every couple has their rough spots. We just got ours out of the way early on. We’re better off for it, don’t you think?”

Kaidan shrugged a bit. “I guess. At least, I can’t come up with an argument for how things are now. I’ll admit we’ve got it good right now. Even if you are still charging into situations you really shouldn’t be surviving.”

“It’s not all my fault. You get the orders, too.”

“You mentioned this being a celebration,” Kaidan decided to not let them get too far down that line of dialogue.

“I didn’t want to set too much in stone, especially since I wasn’t sure we’d be on the Citadel when I thought of it. But I’ve got food being delivered in about half an hour and the whole night to show you how much I love you. I figure we can fill in the blanks with whatever we feel like doing.”

Kaidan gave Shepard another solid kiss. “Brilliant strategy, as always, John.”

Kaidan just hoped they made it to some actual significant anniversaries they could celebrate, as much as the war against the Reapers was trying to make that seem unlikely. But it’s part of the reason he fought, and as he said, he had a thing with commitment.

He’d do anything to see John and him get a chance at a lifetime together.

“By the way, I have to mention how much I love you in civvies,” Shepard said in a low voice as he brought his lips back toward Kaidan’s neck, making the biotic let out a pleased sigh.

“You tell me every time I’m in them. I might just believe you.” Shepard’s left hand dipped under his shirt and trailed up his side along warm skin. “And trying to get me out of my clothes before the food gets here will be the mood-killer.”

Shepard smiled against his neck and Kaidan knew the man was now considering doing it just because that sounded like a challenge. “Why? Because we’d likely both be naked and effectively worked up by then and have to answer the door or because your stomach will then be in command?”

“Pick one, but you’re still taking it as a ‘leave my clothes on until after we’ve eaten.’”

Shepard nipped at his neck then, surprising a gasp out of Kaidan. “Fine, I’ll leave your clothes on. It’s not like there isn’t plenty I can do to you while working around clothes.”

Shepard was back to just having too good of a time teasing Kaidan, both with his hands and his mouth. He almost had Kaidan to the point of his side of the conversation being all for show. “That hook I mentioned earlier is still a possibility.”

“You do know that your threats are just foreplay to me, right?”

Shepard didn’t give Kaidan the chance to retort, sealing his lips with a passionate kiss that actually got Kaidan wondering if they could get a round out of the way before food got there after all. Just because they usually took their time with each other didn’t mean they couldn’t do a sprint.

Shepard was getting the door anyway, so what did it matter what Kaidan looked like.

**Author's Note:**

> It's interesting having to include certain words in a fic. There were a few sentences that I added or rewrote to get the word, but these guys just happened to hand me an easy premise to work with the challenge, which was for the 3rd year since the FB group had been created. That's awesome of them ^_^.  
> Thank you for reading and hope to hear from you!


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